St. Paul’s scored seven times after intermission, turning a tight game into a 9-1 rout and advancing to the second round Saturday.

“Citronelle came out and played well early,” Fricke said. “I thought our girls came out a little slow, but they relaxed and took control in the second half.”

The Saints (15-4-1) will host either Spanish Fort or Faith Academy on Saturday in the second round. The winner advances to the state tournament next weekend in Huntsville.

Junior Ali Sutherland led the way Wednesday. She scored St. Paul’s first two goals of the game, then tacked on two more during the second-half scoring onslaught to finish with four for the game.

She left with five minutes left and the game well in hand.

“She is extremely dangerous,” Fricke said of Sutherland. “She is running all the time, and that creates a lot of scoring opportunities for us.”

Ali Gonzalez and Mallory Messer each added two second-half goals for the Saints, while Elizabeth Bailey scored the other. Citronelle’s Carley Johnson scored the game’s first goal in the opening minutes.

St. Paul’s Cameron Drum had two saves in goal, but the game was played mostly on the Citronelle side of the field.

“I was proud of the girls,” said Fricke, in his 10th season as head coach. “They didn’t get frustrated when they got behind. They came back and just played their game. Being in the final eight is a great accomplishment.”

Spanish Fort and Faith will play their first-round game Thursday night. The Saints have beaten the Toros twice already this season. They did not play Faith in the regular season.